It's Not Always About You
by DaenerysTargary3n
Summary: This story was born out of a sheer hatred mixed with a love of Klaroline and undying respect for Jeremy. It's about an unusual Stefan/Jeremy, Damon/Elena, Klaus/Caroline idea, focusing on Stefan and Jeremy. It's not going to be too long a story.
1. Elena Gilbert All The Time

**A/N** Just a small author's note about this fanfic. Firstly, I obviously do not own or claim to own anything Vampire Diaries related and created, secondly, thank you to LJ Smith for creating it in the first place.

I wrote this specifically to highlight how awful a character Elena Gilbert (not Nina Dobrev in any way related!) is. Whilst this is a Vampire Diaries based fanfic, it does stray a lot from where the series is going, so I'm just treating it like a completely separate AU. I seem to have a thing where I dislike the principal women in modern vampire stories: eg. Bella in Twilight, Sookie in True Blood, Elena in Vampire Diaries etc. And I happen to think that Caroline would be a much better principal character than Elena, but I'm not ready for my Klaroline magnum opus so I've written this one through Jeremy's eyes instead.

Hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you think xox

* * *

**CHAPTER 01 - Elena Gilbert All The Time**

I sat there, just like I always have, watching the pair of them bicker over her, disagreeing over who was going to protect her best, whose plan would succeed, to whom she ought to entrust her life. Well, I've had enough! I'm her brother, well, her cousin, but we're family.

Family used to mean something in the Gilbert house, when we had parents, an aunt and uncle or even when Ric was still around. There have always been people that looked after us, who _should_ have been looking out for us – the Salvatores just muscled in – and it's because of them that all of that has gone. Things used to be good around here. I wasn't invisible for a start...

I used to love Elena, adore her even...she was my big sister. She used to look out for me and I could depend on her looking out for me, even when it annoyed me that she did – the times when 'Gents' meant nothing to her. Now, she's the doppelganger, she's the reason we're all going to die, why other people have died, why I'm an orphan, why she's an orphan and why Mystic Falls has become a vampireplex. The fight used to be about keeping _people_ safe – not one person, not the vampires sucking the life out of this time, not the witches, not the werewolves and certainly not the hybrids – the _people_! No one is just _people_ any more, everyone has an agenda or a secret.

Even the people in this town are becoming supernatural thanks to these bloody rings! When Alaric's killed his, they didn't even care enough to tell me or make sure I was cool, they just came to get me to talk to some vampire ghost chick. Maybe, I'll go on a rampage round town like Alaric, killing those who have let our town turn into a more preppy version of Gotham City! Nah, they wouldn't notice, and they'd probably think it was Klaus...

"Jeremy?"

This is pathetic, just moping around like this and I'm not even on drugs. I wonder if drugs would work now – can vampires get high? I must remember to ask Klaus when Caroline goes hunting.

"Jeremy?"

My attention was back on the others in the room, "What?"

Stefan walked up to me, his face creased the way it usually was, always worried about something, "Jer, you feeling okay?"

I shrugged his hand off my shoulder as he placed it there and got up, "Yeah, I'm fine, what did I miss?"

At my response, all three of them looked at me with judging, patronising eyes – as they always said, 'fine' was not an answer to that question. But I didn't care about keeping them happy; they could do well on their own. I needed to feed...

Sidling over to the table, I picked up my phone and headed for the door, "I'll see you guys later, 'kay?"

"Wait, Jer,"

"Don't wait up"

* * *

I wanted to find Caroline. She had had enough of the tiresome threesome when they tried to take her away from Klaus, a decision of hers they could not accept because of what it meant for Elena. She was on my side with this, she would have a plan or something, advice at least. Klaus had made her see things more clearly, less through the eyes of Barbie doll Caroline, Elena's best friend and eternal second choice, now, she was feisty, rebellious and Klaus' Caroline and she grew more like him every day, whilst staying exactly like Caroline.

I had gotten to know Klaus better, since it had been Elijah who accidentally turned me just a few days ago, before he left town. I have yet to complete my transition; I have not yet fed on human blood. I am going to...Caroline just hadn't talked Klaus round to the right way to go about it yet.

Caroline had got Klaus to sort of look out for me, whereas Elena wanted the Salvatores to keep an eye out on me. Thank God for Caroline and her insight, telling me they would never have the time nor the will to sidetrack from their precious Elena.

I hate the Salvatores most because they made me hate Elena – the only family I have left. She helped in her own way, being so absorbed in her own troubles she cannot understand those of others and makes things worse for everyone around her. Bonnie should never have been allowed to die like that and that was Elena's fault and she did it on purpose! If she had just left well alone, Bonnie would have sorted everything out months ago, just like she always used to, but she got her reward...

All the trips down memory lane that I had gone down the past couple of days were beginning to depress me, so I dialled Caroline's number.

"Hi, Jer, what's going on?"

"I need to meet up. You and Klaus around town?" She never went anywhere without Klaus now. She was only the second youngest vampire in Mystic Falls, after all...

After a hesitation, "Actually, we're kinda busy today, but we can see you some other time,"

"Well, I-"

"Is it urgent? Has something happened? Are you in trouble?"

I could hear Klaus' irritated English accented voice on the other end of the phone, "How will you find out, love, if you won't let him get a word in?"

I chuckled at their light-hearted banter, which I never dreamed I would hear out of Klaus a year ago, "No, it's fine, just wondering if you two had made your minds up about what I'm going to do."

"Oh, no...sorry Jer, haven't really. But, don't worry, we'll sort something out, it's just the blood banks round here are getting hard to break into and you can't have it straight from the tap, as it were, right away,"

I paused, thinking how much Caroline had become like Klaus in the way she spoke now, less 'Oh my God!" and more "By Jove!" I think it's rather cute...

"Yeah, no, I totally get it. Let me know when you lovebirds have a moment to spare."

I decided to just walk aimlessly round town, stopping in the Grill to see if Matt was around but no such luck, walking round the park, going in and out of stores I had no interest in whatsoever, just to pass the time. The only thing that was occupying my mind was the fact that I was alone – again – and I was fast running out of people to help and to just be on my side for once instead of Elena's. Well aware that I have become bitter and hateful towards my sister, it was impossible for me not to blame her any more for the utter train wreck that my life had turned into since she started dating and hanging out with vampires.


	2. Transition

**A/N** Hope you enjoyed the last chapter, even though it was a bit of a profile and introduction to the story as a whole, also hope the whole concept of my Vampire Diaries AU is not confusing…basically, if an important event that happened in seasons 1-3 of the TV show isn't mentioned, for example, Klaus being put into Tyler's body etc. then in my AU, it hasn't happened.

* * *

**CHAPTER 02 - Transition**

I felt guilty, probably the guiltiest I think I've ever felt, but I hadn't heard from Caroline or Klaus in hours and my skin was on fire. So, I went ahead and found a sleazy looking bar, which I hung around outside until the early hours when people who partied came out utterly oblivious to their surroundings and company. Then, I approached and as if I were already a vampire, I preyed on the innocent girl who was unfortunate enough to come out of the bar alone, drunk, clearly high and in tears. If I had been feeling my normal human self, this show of vulnerability would have resulted in my help, but in transition, the only feelings I had was that my skin was alight, my teeth about to be pushed out of my skull, my eyes turning pitch black, the agony of my lust for blood consuming every thought…

Just as Caroline had predicted, with my drug habit, I hadn't been able to stop once I felt the beautiful, unrelenting pull of her blood and she now lay still as daybreak, but not tranquil, not at peace, her eyes, her eyes were open with all the terror and pain that had defined her last moments alive. All I could do now was stare at her corpse in horror, but satisfied now that my hunger had been quelled.

Was this really what Stefan did and relished as a ripper? Was this the kind of behaviour that Klaus used to encourage and order? Being new vampire was not all I thought it would be – how glad I was then that when I drank Anna's blood before that the process failed…

I was brought back to the present by the sound of my phone ringing, glancing at the caller ID, I was surprised by the name.

"Stefan?"

"Jeremy, where are you? Elena's worried about you and so am I. Are you safe? Is Caroline there?"

I didn't want to tell Stefan about what just happened. I just wanted to go back to being Jeremy Gilbert, stoner dude.

With a broken voice, I said, "Stefan, I did it."

"Did what? Jeremy, what's happened? What did you do?"

"I became like you,"

I could tell the implication of those words hit him like a ton of bricks. He took a moment to respond.

"Jeremy, just tell me where you are," he said calmly.

"Outside The Albany bar, in the alley…there's so much blood, Stefan," I was determined to tell him the truth now that he knew where I was, "Stefan, hurry, I can't control it, I need more…blood,"

"Hold on,"

With that, he hung up and I returned to looking at my first victim, now with black, cold and hungry eyes. There was still blood in her…I hadn't drunk it all, I could take more, now that she was dead, nothing was stopping me – shame to waste it.

"No, Jeremy, resist it, don't do it, just wait for Stefan, just hold on, hold on, hold on,"

As I chanted the last words Stefan spoke to me, I could feel my hunger and bloodlust waning slightly, but I knew if Stefan was much longer, my self-control would not be enough to keep me from feeding again.

* * *

Minutes on minutes passed and still no Stefan. I wondered if he had stopped to fetch Caroline and Klaus for help. _Elena!_ There must have been a problem with Elena and Stefan had to go to her, for a problem that could probably wait hours, if not days, but because it was Elena, the hunger that was all-consuming and threatening to overwhelm me completely was going to go unchecked and I would kill more helpless people…

My suspicions were spinning wildly out of control and as they rested on the subject of Elena, my anger and hate began to conquer the little remaining power I had over my own actions. At once, I sprang from a hunting crouch back to the crumpled body of the dead girl whose blood now was within me, newly formed fangs now bared ready for the plunge into the flesh and the accommodating vein.

Suddenly, I was flung back into the wet alley wall away from my target. Once the initial anger passed, I saw Stefan, also black-eyed and fangs bared, ready to protect the girl's corpse from further mutilation at my hands. The shock knocked the hunger out of me and my eyes returned to a human colour.

Immediately, Stefan disengaged and looked me over with more concern in his eyes than any other emotion that I had expected, like disappointment or anger. He flashed over to where I lay and helped me up.

"Oh my God, Jeremy, are you all right? Why the hell wasn't Caroline or Klaus here? I thought they were meant to be looking out for you," he cursed angrily.

"It wasn't their fault. Caroline said I should wait cos they were busy but they were going to come with me this morning, all I had to do was wait through tonight, but…I couldn't," I cradled my head in my hands.

Stefan let out a long sigh, "Okay, okay, well…it's done now," he glanced at the girl, "I have to sort this. We can't have people finding vampire victims around town, even when we're almost out of Mystic Falls. I think Sheriff Forbes still operates here. I'll get rid of this mess, but I want you, Jeremy, to call Caroline and tell her what happened, then you need to get in contact with Elijah,"

As he mentioned the name of my maker, I cringed, recalling the way I was turned and how it came about. "Why?" I asked callously.

Stefan let out another burdened sigh, "Because he needs to know that you are now a vampire and have completed the transition and that he has a responsibility here, no matter how much he chooses to delegate it to his brother and Caroline!" Stefan paused for air, then continued with as much gusto, "Jeremy, whether you like it or not, you are now part of Elijah's bloodline, as I am part of Klaus' and in the end, he is responsible for you and he is tied to you and you are tied to him,"

"All right! I'll call him!"

I headed off in the direction of downtown Mystic Falls when Stefan cautiously called out to me, "Jeremy, where are you going to stay now that you're a vampire?"

I instantly checked my steps, "What do you mean?"

He looked at me woefully, "Well…now that you have to be invited in to buildings and houses where you want to go and now that you have what seems to be a big problem with your hunger, do you think you ought to be in the same house as Elena?"

_Elena!_ Elena again…

I longed to just scream at him, why Elena now? Has she just murdered someone? Has she just become a vampire? Has she died recently because a ring that was supposed to keep her alive didn't work? NO! So just leave Elena out of my life, for once!

I took a deep, yet now unnecessary breath, and said, "I'll go to Caroline and Klaus' for tonight and go over to ours in the afternoon to get my stuff then I'll move away, which is what everyone wants anyway, then you can be with Elena, just like you always wanted. At Caroline's at least I'll be able to get in and I won't be a danger to anybody and they might actually notice when I'm in trouble and need a bit of help!"

The anger just poured out of me as venom directly aimed at Stefan. I knew it wasn't really his fault, it was Elena's, but he asked for it by more or less telling me not to go home – to the home that should have been rightly mine, had I not been the victim of one of Damon's stupid plans, which had gone drastically awry.

I didn't want to get to Caroline's in too much of a hurry, so having said my piece; I left Stefan to his morbid business and just walked back. I remembered the day which changed my life, which changed my death…

The day when Ric got killed, Damon had concocted a plan to stop him and his ultimate vampire hunting mojo with the rings that he and I both had. He made fake doubles that wouldn't bring you back were you killed by a supernatural entity. The problem, as with all plans that either of the Salvatores devise, was Elena. We all assumed that because she was the Petrova doppelganger that she kind of qualified as a supernatural being that would not be protected from death by the ring. It seems though, that doppelgangers are not magical enough to be rendered safe by the rings, they are just a freak of nature. Elijah suggested that he give me and Elena some of his blood, in case either the ring that had been taken from Alaric or my ring failed to resurrect us. Elena having chosen Damon over Stefan had also decided she was prepared to become a vampire to spend eternity with him. So Damon kept the rings safe until it was time for the plan to be put into place, then Elena got the ring that I normally wore and I was given the one that Alaric wore. Hers – _or mine_ – activated and brought her back to life still alive and breathing, but Alaric's having been so extensively used did not work for me as we had hoped it would, so I was unintentionally turned into a vampire from the blood of Elijah.

In short, the plan was an unmitigated disaster. And now, I'm stuck with the consequences of it.

* * *

By the time I reached the end of my own death story in my head, I had arrived at Caroline's door. I couldn't be bothered to call Elijah and tell him the obvious, besides Klaus would probably mention it to him at some point in the future. I rang their old fashioned doorbell at the Mikaelson mansion, where they lived along with Rebekah and Elijah when they were in town, which was almost never, so there were lots of spare rooms going and it was much nicer than the Salvatore boarding house, which also unfortunately had the Salvatores living there. Not to mention that Elena had stayed over at the Salvatore boarding house almost each night since she had finally made her choice leaving me either to crash at Caroline's or to just make do in the empty Gilbert house, no longer home, but I had chosen not to ask too many questions about what Elena spent her nights doing at the Salvatore place…

I heard heavy footsteps approaching the ornate, heavy door, so I guessed it was Klaus.

"Ah, good evening, Jeremy," he said in his lilting English accent as he smiled opening the door.

I frowned at his dishevelled, unusual unkempt appearance, not at all glad that shown by his untidiness I had interrupted their good time, "No, Klaus, it's not…"

He examined me closely and I saw his blue expressive and perceptive eyes widen with the realisation of the night's events.

He tilted his head backwards, "Caroline! We have company…interesting company!" He added, knowingly smiling, in that irritating obnoxious way that had always bugged me, oddly more now that when it meant that he had found another way to plan our demise.

She suddenly appeared clad in nothing more than red silk – and revealing – lingerie, having seen who was at the door, wrapping her matching satin robe around herself. "Wha-"

Obviously understanding what I was doing at her door so early and unexpectedly and figuring out why on earth Klaus would have ever said my company was interesting, she looked at me sympathetically and invited me in, ushering me through the door into the safety of the Mikaelson home – yes, home – without hesitation.


	3. Rippers United!

**CHAPTER 03 - Rippers United!**

I was still in one piece living at the Mikaelson place, but I was in a bad way. Caroline had warned me this would happen the second I had warm and fresh human blood, that because while I was a human I was susceptible to the temptation and addiction of drugs that as she told me Stefan had called her in her first days of being a vampire, basically she was an insecure, neurotic, control-freak on crack, and with a few tweaks, I would be that way too. Promising!

Anyways, I had gone off my vampire rails, I had become a 'mini-Stefan the Ripper don't wannabe', which amused Klaus a bit, but then Caroline heard him chuckling at 'the poetry of the whole thing' and she didn't sleep with him for two days, which as I understand it, is undying hell for Klaus.

Stefan had also been coming over a lot, taking me out bunny hunting, trying to wean me off the fresh and human stuff. It was definitely not working though. Every moment of every second of every day my gums ached for the feel of that warm, red liquid to soothe the burn that coursed through my body violently. No foul-tasting animal's blood could quench my thirst and need for human blood.

Caroline and Klaus did not have time to babysit me 24/7, making sure I was not giving into temptation, but they said that since they were housing the blood addict, Stefan could play the part of saviour – rather ironic when you think of his name – and spend time with me and tell me stories of his ripper days attempting to shock and scare me out of my unhealthy blood habit, nothing that Aunt Jenna hadn't tried to do the first time, I was remind of her saying something to do with her own weight and tacos...

Elena had called a couple of times trying to find out how I was and why I was avoiding her, as she was too consumed in her own troubles and insurmountable woes to work it out for herself. I didn't want to talk to her before all this drama, now I wanted to talk to her even less. She just refused to understand me, like always, which began with her getting her vampire stooges to compel my memories away and has now ended with her still safe and me a bloody vampire!

The end of my grave thoughts and the natural end of Stefan's latest ripper story coincided, so I decided to level with the guy. He looked at me knowing that I had no clue what he'd just been talking about, but I returned his look with another that said I was sorry.

My eyes immediately turned from brown to black without cause and Stefan looked at me gravely. "We really need to get you sorted...this is becoming a very real and dangerous problem,"

I began gasping and my fangs presented themselves ready for the feed and ultimately...the kill. Stefan grasped me by the forearms and held them tightly – if I was still human, he'd have broken them.

"Come on, Jeremy, just work through it, feel the need for blood but turn it into something else...think about," he hesitated for a second thinking about what my outlet should be, and then he looked at me with pointed, yet understanding eyes and almost shouted, "Think about Elena. I know how you hate her; how you think she's the one who's done all this to you and that she's selfish. Jeremy, you're absolutely right. Hold on to that and use that rage, that frustration, that ferocity to get through the blood lust. I'm with you and I know Elena has really made everything into a disaster zone, I'm on your side,"

Listening to his words, even in a state of total animal instinct when nothing seemed as important as taking a mouthful of blood, I felt that Stefan was right. I let out a wall shattering roar, releasing all of my need for blood and all of my hatred of Elena into the universe, no longer only mine. As the rage and hunger left me, so did the darkness of my eyes and my fangs retracted.

Stefan smiled and gave me a chummy slap on the cheek, "Well done, Jer, I'm proud of you. That must have been hard..."

I just smiled at Stefan, "What you said about Elena, did you mean that? That you blame her as well?"

Stefan looked at the floor, "You know what, Jer, yeah, I do blame her. I blame her for starting things out with me, then falling in love with Damon, then not being able to make the choice and making us dance through hoops for her and then she chose the wrong person after all that. Damon's the better for it, though; he's never had such humanity since we transitioned. But I cannot forgive her for doing exactly what Katherine did all that time ago."

I watched him intently as he poured his soul out to me, declaring all the feelings that he clearly never showed to his brother or Elena, always trying to do what was best for others. That was Stefan for you. I suddenly felt sympathetic to the youngest Salvatore brother, who I had just realised was in the same boat as myself – treated scandalously by Elena.

"I'm sorry,"

He looked up, "What?"

"I didn't realise, all that time I spent sitting around rooms watching you and Damon struggle over Elena, feeling sorry for myself and there you were, pretending to be candid and doing all you could knowing that at the end of it all you wouldn't be getting the girl. I wish I could have been that way."

"No, Jer, you were right to have acted the way that you did. We couldn't even look beyond our own desire to protect Elena to see what we were doing to you by muscling in and making decisions for you and on behalf of her. I realise that now, though I know it's too late in the coming, but I apologise for my part in it. Together, Damon, Elena and I managed to destroy your family and what was most important to you. Ric was right when he installed himself on the Council saying that someone needed to just be human and on the side of the people of the town, so I'm sorry this has happened to you, Jeremy,"

I nodded, as no words could express how liberating it felt just for someone to finally say they were sorry for what they had done and to realise that the path to protecting Elena came with a lot of avenues which led to the pain and suffering, and most often death of people who mattered as much, if not more, than Elena.

"You know what sucks?"

He smiled at my casually put question, "What?"

"Bonnie's not here. She would have made everything all right and boy, would she have railed at you and Damon for how the last plan turned out."

Stefan recalled the feisty side of the witch and nodded, "And we would have deserved every word. I miss her too – we should have noticed how distant she became and what it meant a lot quicker...just another person who got let down in this whole mess." The grief that he bore permeated his voice like water in sand, weighing it down.

I remembered Stefan on that day, returning to Mystic Falls after going to see Bonnie who was staying in a small cottage which she had been renting out for a couple of days. The last conversation I had with her was strange, but I didn't think about it until after I knew she was gone. She seemed different and almost spaced. She said she would be staying out of town for a while because she needed to get some distance between her and everything that was going on. I never imagined that not even two hours drive would be far enough, that only death was far enough for her.

Stefan went to get her to come back after no one had heard from her in over a week, but she never returned to Mystic Falls. He found her hanging from her ceiling, limp and cold as ice, having been dead for almost the whole week. She left a note, which I was allowed to have, saying it was all too much and that she wanted to leave on her own terms rather than a vampire's, which is how she said she would have eventually died, just like her Grams. In what seemed, at the time, to be a severe case of ill humour, she said she would say hi to everyone who was already dead – my parents, Elena's parents, Aunt Jenna, Ric, Caroline's dad, Vicki, Anna, Tyler's dad – but when the initial, terrible grief had passed, I realised just how Bonnie that was, that even in her final thoughts, she thought about others. We didn't bury her, she said she didn't want to be the plaything of archaeologists in years to come who would search for vampires and dig up Mystic Falls Cemetery, so we laid her out in the house where she had died and filled every room with wild flowers, so she'd be surrounded by nature and set the place on fire. I hoped that, just like the site of the mass execution of the witches was a witch's power hotspot, the cottage by the lake would be Bonnie's eternal place of power.

Stefan's phone began to ring and after seeing the caller ID, he said he had to go check on something. I glanced up at him, well aware that it was my sister demanding the attention of the man she should have chosen, whose care and devotion she now did not merit.

"Thanks for the help, Stefan,"

He smiled at me fondly, "My pleasure,"


	4. Sweet Caroline

** A/N ** Sorry for the cheesy title, but I simply could not help myself. This is the defining Klaroline chapter, hence the length :P , but it is only the top of another exciting iceberg which I will leave to a story of its own to do it proper justice. Hope you enjoy and thanks to those who have reviewed – very helpful x

* * *

**CHAPTER 04 - Sweet Caroline**

I sat in my room still in the Mikaelson mansion. Stefan had left a few minutes ago and I found that oddly, I missed him. I had never really talked to him about anything so personal, but now that we were on the same page as each other, I was coming round to the opinion that I had grossly misunderstood this Salvatore. He was not like his brother, hot-headed and only concerned with what mattered to him. I could get used to his company over time; at a push I could even consider him as one of my friends. The numbers of which were dwindling. If I was asked today about friends, I would say that Caroline was my closest friend, followed by Klaus, which if you had told me last year that I would call Klaus one of my best mates, I would have taken you to hospital. I missed the days when all I used to do was hang out with my drug buddies and pass my time in a trance.

Thinking about drugs...my bloodlust was beginning to return. It flared a minute after Stefan went home, but I did as he told me and tried to focus my need for blood on my hate for my sister. It was hard to do by myself though and the lovebirds weren't home yet.

I felt my eyes blacken over as my animal desire for blood overcame the human within me. My fangs emerged from my gums instantaneously and contorted my mouth even though there was no one for me to sink them into. As my body arched into a hunting position, I let out another growl loud enough to wake the dead as I tried – it seemed fruitlessly – to overcome my urge to hunt and to maim and to kill.

Unexpectedly I felt a muscular and burly arm hook round my neck and strongly pull me towards a lean body.

Klaus' dulcet, yet serious voice spoke, "It's all right Jeremy, just keep fighting it and soon it'll be over. I'm not going anywhere, so just keep willing it to go away,"

It took me a while to re-establish control, and Klaus was true to his word. Caroline was still on a blood run and would be back in a while.

"That was impressive, Jer, really, very impressive." He smiled, "If my siblings and I had been able to do what you just did, you'd probably still be human,"

I laughed, "Thanks, man, but if you hadn't have arrived when you did, I'd have been in town on the rampage without another thought,"

Klaus shook his head, "In instances such as these, it is the show of willpower that defines how well you deal with your bloodlust. It is the desire to control it and not to be a maniac with fangs and the ability to do so much harm to others that makes the world of difference. And you are not on your own, you've got me, Caroline and Stefan to help you and none of us want to see you be a ripper."

I smiled as I heard the familiar tone of his voice as he said the last word and just as he spoke about how different things were because I wanted them to be, he was just the same, the proof of that. Because he wanted and loved Caroline so much, he changed his entire personality and his whole outlook on life just so he'd be what she needed. The Klaus of a year ago would never have been seen to show sympathy or compassion at another person's plight and especially not to offer to help someone to whom he had no personal tie or emotional connection.

I noticed a change in Klaus' countenance, "What's wrong?"

He pulled an uncomfortable face, "It's just...while we were out, we were, how to put this, accosted."

"Accosted by what?"

"I think what you mean is by whom. We saw Damon...and Elena," he looked up, judging my reaction to this news, but continued, "She was asking after you, wondering how you are and why you are not returning her messages. I don't think she understands why you're angry at her or why you are ignoring her. I get what you're feeling, but you ought to tell her what you're feeling and why you do feel the way that you do,"

"She can damn well work it out for herself,"

Klaus nodded, "If that's the way you feel, I am not going to force you into meeting her,"

Our vampire hearing told us that Caroline had just arrived home, whistling no less, so with a final smile to me at his girlfriend's chirpiness, Klaus nodded in farewell and went to see her.

I decided to pass the time when I was not basically crippled by my vampire urges reading the many books that Klaus had collected over time. Many were signed and priceless first editions centuries old. For this evening's leisure, I had chosen leather bound copy of "Doctor Faustus" by Marlowe. As I perused the play, it began to dawn on me that we all sell our souls to the devil to achieve what we yearn for. Damon sold his for Katherine when he chose to become a vampire for her, Esther sold her entire family's souls to the devil when she made them into the first vampires and then centuries later tried to undo her mistake by going against her maternal nature itself.

I was vaguely aware of what was going on in the rest of the house while I indulged in a more wholesome activity. The pair were not quiet by any means, as they thought that because of my heightened vampire hearing, I would have heard them at only the slightest of sounds, they might as well be as loud as they wished.

I heard them begin in the kitchen, with the loud clatters of the dinnerware as they shoved it out of their path, but they flashed all over the house. The first night I had spent here had been awkward, as they usually made a lover's journey through every room in the house and in their passion, forgot that I was occupying one of them...

I was surprised when a few minutes later, the sounds of their love making suddenly were not to be heard. I did not want to explore the house in case I found them, but it was odd.

Caroline appeared in a tank top and shorts at my door, only slightly unkempt.

"Hi, Jer, what you up to this evening?"

"Reading." I said, carelessly throwing the book onto the bed, "What happened to Klaus?"

Caroline came in and sat down gracefully on the bed, "He had to go and help Rebekah get out of a bit of a fix, as I understand it. It didn't sound too serious though. She's probably just found a high school kid who doesn't find her the most attractive girl ever to exist and her world has come tumbling down," Caroline said disdainfully. She was still unable to get over her first impressions of Rebekah, as a boyfriend stealing, evil vampire whore...

I laughed heartily, "I can't believe it doesn't bother Klaus more that you can't abide his favourite sibling!"

She laughed along with me, "Jer, ever heard the expression, don't bite the hand that feeds you?" I nodded, "Well, there is a variation that exists for Klaus and I. Don't-"

I quickly interrupted her, "Caroline, I'm not sure I want to know, thanks,"

With a quick, teasing wink she confirmed my suspicions.

* * *

The next thing I knew, I was on top of her, fangs bared and pinning her arms above her head, which had left a red imprint on the wall. I couldn't see, but by the terrified expression on her face, which I took in in less than a second, it was plain my eyes had become black; her own vampire instincts had not taken over, presumably from the jolt of my impulsive attack. Before I could muster the resolve to halt my ripper style actions, I had sunk my fangs into her throat, burying my face in the side of her neck as I tore through her soft flesh and gnashed over and over at her white body.

Her screams filled the room and must have been heard outside the house, but no interruption ceased my assault on her body, once I had torn through the greater part of her neck, she could no longer scream... She tried to keep me at bay, but somehow I was stronger and I gave her no opportunity to put up a fight once I had gnawed her arms until they had all but perished. Not even the absence of human blood made me, in my frenzy, stop. It didn't matter to the animal within me that she could not even heal from the wounds I was inflicting upon her, as once the tears in her began to heal, my mouth set at them again and reopened them.

I easily ripped her sleepwear from her body and persisted in my quest to rip her body to shreds. A true ripper... A still uncaring and bestial glance at her face, now painted in her own blood, revealed the agony and panic behind her eyes instead of the light and 'genuine beauty' as Klaus put it, which used to reside there.

All I had the ability, as a ripper vampire with no humanity, to do was disregard the pain I was inflicting upon the one person who had not abandoned me to my fate nor forgotten about me in my own suffering, for the only thing that mattered during the relentless attack on Caroline's innocent was the thrill of the power and the sadistic pleasure of making her body bleed...the sensation too strong and powerful for me to merely will it to disappear.

With a fierce and furious growl, Klaus returned and flashed into the room to see the gory and twisted scene that was laid out before him. He first observed my lack of control and my bloodlust conquering my humanity with no contest, as my face was also covered in Caroline's dark red blood, along with my shirt, my hands and most of my person and the red stain on the wall where Caroline's head had broken upon impact. He only glanced at the broken body of the girl sprawled across the bed briefly, taking in the sheer amount of blood coating her alabaster white skin and presuming her a dead, ill-fated human girl I must have found somewhere. The disbelief that I had done so much damage to Caroline that a man who spent every night with her and if he could, every minute of every day, was not able to recognise the woman he loved with every inch of his being pulled me from the depths of the shadows which I had entered.

He returned his deep blue eyes to look me over, "Jeremy, Jeremy, what ha-"

His expression changed instantly as he noticed the still clean clump of blonde hair that had ended up in my tight grasp...and recognised it as the familiar shade of blonde hair that he stroked when Caroline sat on his lap.

He flashed over to the girl still immobile on my bed and shook her, shouting her name with such a heartbroken voice that I retreated to the other side of the large room, fearing the result of such heartbreak.

"Caroline!" Klaus carefully, yet firmly, gripped her face with both of his strong hands, "Caroline, please, love, speak to me!"

The only sound that she could utter was a soft moan, as her throat was still trying to heal itself along with the rest of her body. At least it meant she would be all right in the end...

Having heard this evidence of life and eventual recovery, Klaus gently pressed his lips to hers, letting out a sigh of relief, "Oh, my love, it's going to be all right. I'll get you some blood and then the pain will go away."

It had not even occurred to me since I had been passively slumped against the wall watching Klaus minister to Caroline, that because I had very nearly emptied her body of all of its blood, she would be powerless to heal herself. So, the reality that I might have actually been able to kill her hit me hard, but I had to make sure she was all right now, even if she never talked to me again, which I would understand. I had to make sure she would recover as quickly as possible.

Klaus' voice brought me out of my own mind. He had pulled the covers over Caroline's still limp body, and was perched on the bed beside her, unwilling to move her at all and he certainly wouldn't leave her after this. "Jeremy," he said, not angrily, but he definitely was repressing the urge to kill me straight off now, "If you're feeling up to it, and I mean you don't think you're going to go on a binge or drink it all yourself, you have to go down to the basement and get ten bags of AB positive because she will start desiccating in about ten minutes."

I blankly looked in his eyes, entranced by that presence of danger, which had been so long absent from his eyes that I had forgotten how paralysing it used to be.

He continued to watch me, waiting for me to respond, "If you think you are going to be Jeremy the Ripper, then please call Stefan and ask him to come over and bring some blood from downstairs because if she experiences even a second of the pain that desiccating causes, then you will experience pain in places you didn't even know could hurt."

"Normally, I like you Jeremy, but you are dangerous and look, look at what you've just done to the person who probably cared most about you in the world!" Klaus gestured to Caroline with wild, manic hands. "I can't let things like this happen to her, Jeremy, I just can't bear to see it, so until you sort yourself out, which I think Stefan is most qualified to help you with, please just stay away from here."

Again, it was Klaus' eyes that gave away his true feelings. He felt Caroline's pain almost as keenly as if it was him lying on the bed just as mutilated; he felt pity for me in my current catatonia, regret that he'd been called away, because if he'd just stayed with Caroline instead of going to help Rebekah with her trivial matters, the pair of them would be curled up in bed together, blissfully happy.

"I'm..." I thought about what I had just been able to do and what I ought to do now, which would be best for Caroline, and I decided, "Klaus, I'm going to call Stefan to come and help you here and I won't be coming back. You're right. I am too much a liability in a town that is hanging so precariously by a thread. I'll leave town."

He looked up, perplexed by my last remark, "No, don't leave town, go to the boarding house. And don't worry, Elena is not there tonight, it's just Stefan."

With that, I left the room that would never leave my memory as long as I lived, calling Stefan as I exited the Mikaelson mansion and heading away, towards the Salvatore boarding house.


	5. Why Not?

** A/N ** I hope the last chapter didn't put you off, but it felt a necessary step, to show Jeremy being so overwhelmed by his drug/blood problem that he became a completely different person. It was a really nice feeling writing about Klaroline though...Love those two! The last chapter was really long, so this is going to be a short one, but the Stefan/Jeremy pairing really begins here, so more psychological less action.

* * *

**CHAPTER 05 - Why Not?**

I sat dejected, huddled on a large armchair by the old gothic fireplace in the Salvatore's home. Damon was ironically with my sister at my old house and Stefan had to go and help repair the damage I had done over at the Mikaelson mansion, so I was all alone once more, but this time it was entirely my own fault.

I was tossing my phone around, waiting for it to ring, either it would be Elena for the millionth time, calling to ask why I was mad at her and what she had done to deserve any of this, or it would be Stefan with news of Caroline. Poor, sweet Caroline Forbes, who couldn't hurt anyone and I'd done that to her. Being a vampire, the memory was stronger and in heightened tragic detail. Klaus was right, I shouldn't be around anyone I could hurt like that, only the worst kind of monster would do that to his best friend.

Ripper, ripper, ripper, ripper...the word kept going round in my head, unfortunately in my own accent rather than Klaus', but it was still an ugly word and I had no idea about how I would be able to escape it. I managed to drift off to sleep with the lullaby of my own imagined chanting but sleep was not a good idea.

I was woken by Stefan kneeling in front of me, still in the armchair. I groggily looked out the large paned windows and saw the sunlight shining into the room, like rays of hope at the start of a new day. It was weird but I swear they shone around Stefan like he was Jesus, or something.

"Stefan?" I straightened up and seeing my phone, asked, "How's Caroline?"

"She is now much better than the state she was in last night. I got there just before she began to desiccate, thank God, or Klaus would have had you strung up. When I got there with the blood she looked like you'd used her to sharpen your fangs and that was after Klaus said that she'd healed a bit, so I would have hated coming home to what he must have." My face creased with all the feeling of regret and shame that I felt at my actions.

"Jer, he doesn't really blame you, he blames himself more than anyone. Once she can speak again, she'll come and see you." Now it was Stefan whose face contorted with pain. "I should have been around. We shouldn't have left you to Caroline to sort out like that, I guess, we forgot that you're the only one young enough to be able to hurt her and what with her being with Klaus, we thought there was no way you'd ever get close to anything."

"Well, that worked out well, didn't it?" I retorted sarcastically.

Stefan looked at me with sympathetic eyes. With caution, he said, "Last night, Klaus also said something to me which worried me a lot. He said that you wanted to leave town because you thought you were too much of a danger. Now, please, tell me you can see how that would be a really, _really_ bad idea."

"Why? Why would it be a bad idea? I'd be able to leave town, find a cave somewhere in the middle of nowhere and I wouldn't have hundreds of people within my grasp whom I could kill. I could be Jeremy the Hermit Ripper."

Stefan tried his best to suppress a smile, "Jeremy the Hermit Ripper?" he chuckled, "Been talking to Klaus much? You're starting to talk like him…"

I shrugged off his obvious attempt to change the subject away from my plans, "Anyway, why shouldn't I be away from people? I thought you, with your let's protect people agenda and your defeatist attitude, would think I was doing the right thing and back me up."

"No, Jeremy, just because I occasionally resort to taking it upon myself to safeguard people and keep them away from vampires, does not mean I think it would be good for _anyone_ for you to disappear off to some faraway place and be a…Hermit Ripper!" He grimaced; realising there was no other better suited term for what I wanted to be.

"What you need is just more help controlling your urges and getting used to drinking human blood without it consuming your whole life and taking over your personality, which it clearly did last night and it went unchecked and then Caroline, as the nearest person was on the receiving end of the consequences."

I tried to interject, but he raised his hand to stop me, "The only – and I mean, the only – way for you to get through this is for you to be around people you know and love and who love you, who have centuries of knowledge and experience to talk you through it and who have the centuries of vampire strength to restrain you, should you struggle with your control." He paused and looked at me gravely, "Will you swear to me that you won't run away? That you'll stay and give me another chance to help you? I won't let you down this time, Jeremy. That _I_ promise you."

I saw the passion and the intensity in his face, his expression betraying all the need he felt to rectify what he saw as his mistake, that I had ravaged Caroline to within an inch of her life. I saw that he cared for me and that he would do everything in his power to help me survive. The hazel orbs of his eyes sucked me in and made me trust him, regardless of whether I wanted to trust him or not. The tension of the silence that gripped the room opened the door in my soul for some unspoken feelings and desires, for what happened next all happened in a blur.

My eyes, as they had only hours before, went black and the veins protruded angrily from my pale skin. I anticipated baring my fangs ready for the kill and the blood, but it did not happen. The only thing different was my eyes.

Stefan looked shocked at the speed my face changed, but noticed the absence of my fangs. His own eyes darkened and I looked into the blackness and saw myself and all the repressed desires. He looked sad to me and I wanted to comfort him and be with him and show him he was not alone in the self-loathing that came with the vampire territory, that I felt it too.

With my new vampire speed, I powerfully crushed my lips to his. I kissed him breathlessly and full of passion. My hands grasped his hair and pulled him closer, needing to be as close to him as possible. I felt him lose the initial resistance at my advance and relax into the kiss and I pushed my tongue between his soft lips and felt the mingling of our lips, his meeting mine with an equal appetite. His arms wrapped around my waist and he grasped the fabric of my still blood-stained shirt, almost tearing it off my back.

The intensity of the moment stunned me and was part of my vampire personality's actions, now that I had regained my control and understood what had just happened, I pulled away at once.

I laid my hands gently on his shoulders, softly pushing him away so I could look into his eyes. We explored the emotions of each other by searching through the depths of one another's eyes. In that moment, it was clear we had passed the point of no return – there was only one way we could go, and the way I saw it, only one way we wanted to go…


	6. We're the Same

** A/N ** Thank you everyone who's written such nice positive reviews and sent me lovely messages – really made my day! This is a bit of a mushy, sexy chapter, so enjoy the Jefan action! I would just like to point out, this is the first sex scene I've ever written, so I would appreciate feedback on it and ways I could improve for other stories in the future. It was really fun to write though!

* * *

**CHAPTER 06 - We're the Same**

There was only one way we could go, and the way I saw it, only one way we wanted to go…

I reclaimed his lips with mine with a savage assault, while he in turn hungrily egged me on, desire controlling our minds and hearts without distraction or discussion. Grasping at each other's clothes we flashed with inhuman speed around the room. One second, I was pressing him against the panelled walls of his home. The next second, my back was thrown into the wall with his kisses passing across my neck as I arched into his touch.

I wanted to be his and no one else's. I wanted my problems and his problems to become _our _problems which we would face and overcome together. I wanted to be with him for eternity, this sensitive yet strong vampire, who had so quickly found a permanent spot in my heart. I wanted to help him for all my life, as I wanted him to help me…we would be partners in everything, in life and in love, total equality, something I had never had in any of my relationships before.

Stefan brought me back to the moment by slamming my arms to the wall. He let out a growl as he brought his lips back to mine and our tongues tangoed with each other's, both zealously raging against the other with all our heightened vampire emotion. I could feel the length of his lean and muscular body against my own, keenly aware of each contour.

I roughly shoved him back and we hit the other side of the room with what felt like the force of an earthquake, and I heard books plummet from their shelves and glass vases shatter around us, probably priceless pieces, made worthless by the heat of the moment. Now, I had him trapped between me and the wall, pushing him back, tightening our embrace.

My hands once more found the edge of his shirt and unwilling to wait for him to remove it, tore it from his body, revealing his bare chest. Waiting a moment to take in the beauty and perfection of his form, I caressed the shape of his tattoo and brought my lips down to tenderly brush against the skin on his defined collarbone. His hands still wrapped firmly around my head, went to my back and he pulled my shirt over my head. His hands quickly pulled me closer to him and he kissed the hollow beneath my ear, my arms enfolding him around his slender waist.

With a pained moan, I felt my own hardness against his flesh and my lust to see him bend and writhe under me overwhelmed the tenderness of the moment. I could feel and see that he yearned to be closer and to feel his skin on mine. So, I gripped the belt, tight round his hips, and pulled him with me as I flashed up the regal and elegant stairs of the Salvatore house and into a bedroom, I did not know whose.

I spared a miniscule instant to survey my surroundings and see the items that gave away that I had quite coincidentally found Stefan's room. The picture of Katherine was still laid on the table, the moleskin bound journal lying open at yesterday's entry beside it and an old black and white photo of Stefan in centuries old clothing standing beside an elegant blonde woman, who I assumed was his friend Lexi, whom Elena had mentioned once that Damon had staked.

After I hastily processed this information, I returned to the task in hand. Stefan had noticed that I had momentarily become side-tracked by the new environment, but had remained silent, allowing me a chance to see and realise where I had gone, as if destiny had made me choose where we went to continue indulging our lust and inflamed ardour.

Appreciative of his patience, I gently plied the belt strap from its buckle of his jeans and drew down the zip, leaving them to slip down revealing his waist and leaving nothing to my imagination. What I saw was undoubtedly what I was gonna get…

My hands gripped his hips firmly pulling him close once more, as I felt his more experienced hands quickly and gracefully whip my own belt off and soon the pair of us were before each other naked as gods. Now that nothing was between us and our clothes were scattered around his room, the tiny gap between us was gone and our bodies collided, becoming one being: our mouths, our arms, our stomachs and our hips, all touching, all moving and feeling as one.

In a moment of unusual and rare strength and boldness, I grasped Stefan confidently by the hips and tossed him back onto his bed. He faced me with hunger and impatience in his eyes, inviting me to join him. This alluring glance was all it took for me to flash on top of him and kiss him as if my life depended on it, which I suppose, in a way, it did.

The realisation that had been occupying a fraction of my mind during our rendezvous, that my life would now be altered forever, that I would never allow Stefan to be parted from me and that most importantly, that I had fallen in love with a man, when throughout my mortal life I had been decidedly straight and still was as a vampire, meant that it was only Stefan, the person, not Stefan, the man, whom I loved.

My desire to show him how much I cared for him and how singular he was as a person, spurred me on to say with bated breath, "Turn over."

With a brief, impassioned look into my eyes, he did as I instructed, his back arched, awaiting the inevitable, body and soul aching for the intimacy.

Forcefully strong with my vampire power and my heightened drug addict's impulses, I laid my hands over his and laid myself across his stretched back. Then, I thrust into him, letting out a loud moan, echoed by the fierce growl Stefan released beneath me.

I entered him over and over and over again. With each stab, we moaned in pleasure in absolute harmony with each other – perfectly matched. In the grip of passion, he told me to go faster. His cries became louder and as I clutched his flesh tighter with the building pressure within me, I felt the sudden release and eruption from within me. Within a second, Stefan emitted a final, deep, satisfied moan and his taut, heaving body collapsed, coated in perspiration, down onto the bed.

Unwilling to quit his relaxed and comforting body, I went down with him, remaining inside him for just a moment longer, my hands now intertwined with his, gently caressing his fingers. After a calm moment following our rough and intense love making, I withdrew and rolled over to fall onto the covers beside him – where I wanted to be now forevermore.

No words were necessary. Our actions had spoken for us and given away all of our feelings, which had not been expressed. The moment was genuine perfection. There was nothing that could have made it better, nor do I wish it changed in any way.

I glanced at Stefan fleetingly with nothing but love and devotion in my eyes and as I took in his eyelids now concealing his captivating brown eyes, in blissful slumber, I knew I wanted to spend every day waking up in a bed beside Stefan Salvatore.

So, entirely contented and ecstatically happy, I allowed myself to slip into the realm of Morpheus, without a care in the world now that Stefan was lying safely next to me and was mine.


	7. Discovery

**CHAPTER 07 - Discovery**

I had sweet dreams and I had not had such pleasant and serene dreams for a long time, not since before I began to see the ghosts of Anna and Vicki…so, when I dreamt of Stefan and I overlooking a huge waterfall, probably Niagara, or somewhere like that, and we were happy and we just found it beautiful and we were both at peace there, I was calm during my sleep.

It was not to be, however, as before I should have been, I was awakened by a high-pitched, livid scream.

"Jeremy!"

I sat up bolt upright in a second at the uninvited voice of my sister, who was standing at the foot of Stefan's bed, where he and I had been lying still naked and our hands had found each other's in our deep sleep. Elena's outburst had also roused him and he sat up with a worried and slightly afraid look in his eyes as he took in her aggressive and angry stance.

Elena looked back and forth at the pair of us in bed, occasionally glancing pointedly at items of our clothing scattered around the usually neat bedroom. Her glare rested on Stefan, "Stefan, why is my brother naked in your bed? And why does downstairs look like an earthquake zone?"

I repressed a smile at her choice of words, as they did show that on some basic level we were related, that we thought alike, but I wasn't about to let her take Stefan down for something that I had begun.

Stefan was clearly struggling for the right words to explain what had happened between us, so I rescued him, "Elena, it really is none of your business what went on this morning," her eyes were nearly popping out of her skull, but I did not let her respond, "All that I will say is that Stefan and I belong together and we are together, so deal with it, and leave me alone. I am no longer any of your concern."

She winced at my words that hit a nerve. "Jeremy, it is my business when my younger brother and my ex-boyfriend are naked in bed together!"

Stefan saw his opportunity to prevent the situation from becoming an all-out shouting match between Elena and me, "Elena, just go downstairs please for a while. When we've gotten dressed, you can shout at me, not your brother, until you're happy,"

She did not look at all happy, but she quickly turned on her heels, her hair flying back, and left the room.

Stefan looked at me with relief and said comfortingly, "Don't worry; I won't let her rail at you. This wasn't your fault at all and we shouldn't feel sorry that we had sex."

I got out of bed and found my underwear and my jeans and slipped them on with irritated movements. It was so bloody typical of Elena, to come in and spoil something that was important and so special to me…I smiled as it hit me that this time, for once, I wasn't on my own in the conflict with my sister – this time, Stefan was right there with me.

* * *

We went downstairs once we were both decent and found Damon already pouring himself a tumbler of bourbon, which he did whenever a serious problem affected his life, evidently Elena had told him of our now discovered tryst, if he hadn't already guessed it from the state of his living room. He observed us descending the stairs together with a surprised, yet not angry look, in contrast to Elena, who was sitting back in the large armchair facing the stairs appearing prepared for battle, which I was determined that she would lose – this time we each had a Salvatore brother to protect us, only I didn't need mine to protect me, just to love me.

Damon and Elena's relationship had always been dependant on her need for protection and someone to stop her from being stupid and doing the right thing for everyone else, for if Damon had not on countless occasions stopped her from giving herself over to the people who had killed everyone, I would not be a vampire and I would not have felt so alone because the people who mattered would still be alive.

I strode ahead of Stefan towards my sister, resolute that the battle of wills would be between the Gilberts this time, not the Salvatores because as I saw it, Damon did not blame Stefan or judge him for what had transpired between us, he just seemed surprised that after two centuries of knowing his brother, he had never expected a homosexual side to come out. Why couldn't Elena be the same way with me and just leave it be?

"You two have some big explaining to do…" Elena said in an almost threatening tone.

Stefan graciously declined to reply, leaving me to fight my own battles, "I don't have anything that I have to explain to _you_!" I retorted with venom seeping out of my words.

Elena was taken aback by the angry and resentful manner of my reply and more gently said, "Jer, I don't know what it is that's made you hate me so much, so just tell me what I've done to deserve you hating me, because you're all the family I've got and I can't stand to see you like this," her voice began to break.

"You don't know what you've done? You have no idea, do you?" I flashed in front of her, gripping the arms of the chair and invading her personal space. Damon did move to stop me but Stefan stopped him, knowing I wasn't about to physically harm Elena.

"You absolute selfish bitch, you're so self-involved you can't even see past your own troubles and issues. I don't know how you can say I'm the only family you've got left, because you don't really care for me, you just care about your own guilt and how things end up for you! Everything you've done has left me without someone I loved – _my _parents, _my _aunt, _my_ uncle, all three of my girlfriends! You couldn't even stop at that, you even had to take my humanity away from me."

I took a breath and apart from my angry pants, the room was deathly silent. "Have you seen Caroline recently? Did you hear about what I did to her because I'm a ripper of a vampire? I nearly killed her! I nearly took her life! The vampire Jeremy was completely at ease with killing his best friend, but what remains of the humane Jeremy hates himself for doing such a thing! And _you_, you have no idea what that kind of self-loathing feels like because everyone was so occupied with making sure _you _never felt that kind of emotion that you don't feel any sense of responsibility that everything bad that's happened in this town, happened because of _you_!"

Once I had finished my rather longwinded rant, you could have heard a pin drop. I glared into Elena's eyes, which were brimming with tears and she uttered only one amazed, overwhelmed and utterly aghast sound as if I had just winded her.

I felt Stefan's gentle hand rest upon my shoulder, "Come away, Jer, just leave it,"

I stayed where I was, face inches away from Elena's, for a second longer and then I withdrew to stand beside Stefan. Damon with a sympathetic expression went over to Elena and pulled her up into his arms, comforting her as she began to weep.

Stefan and I just stood back, watching the moment between our siblings before us, until Elena's crying ceased and she slowly turned away from Damon to look angry and bitter at Stefan.

With a rare malice, she said to him, "What have you made him think? What have you done to him?"


	8. It's About Us Now

** A/N ** I hope you, like me, were shouting "Go on, Jeremy!" at the screen during his rant against Elena. This story is now coming to a close, this is the penultimate chapter.

* * *

**CHAPTER 08 - It's About Us Now **

"What have you made him think? What have you done to him?"

As I turned to Stefan, who was utterly stunned by her questions, he asked her in return, "What are you talking about? I haven't done anything to him!"

In a malicious voice, unlike her, she said, "Just because I chose Damon, does not give you any right or excuse to simply replace me with my brother! It's sick, it's wrong and you shouldn't hurt him by lying to him and telling him that you actually care, or love, him because you don't! You just think you do!"

I was astonished by what she was saying. Did she honestly think so much of herself? And she had the gall to give Stefan hell for replacing her with a sibling! What did she think that she had done?

Stefan, hurt by her comments, retreated because he knew if he said what he was thinking, which was undoubtedly the same thing which was going through my mind, he would hurt her and it wasn't in Stefan's nature to hurt anybody.

It took all of my control not to give in to the vampire rage that was dying to be released and be unleashed upon Elena, but having unleashed a different powerful feeling on Stefan only hours earlier, I could stifle my anger. "Elena, how dare you! How dare you say that to _Stefan_! You stand there with Damon and say to Stefan how wrong and twisted it is to take another sibling as his lover, when you've done exactly that! Not only that, you know you're just following in Katherine's footsteps. Her blood must course through your veins more than you thought. You're a heartless bitch, you know," I did not care that it hurt her deeply to hear this, someone needed to make her hear reason and I knew it could only be me, "I can't believe you were even with Stefan now. What you've just said to him shows you don't even know him let alone understand him! I doubt he can even hurt someone accidentally. You've managed to hurt everyone, you've split the town, isolated Caroline and Klaus…What's more, it is you who has no right to tell me or Stefan that what we feel for each other is not real and that it's wrong."

In that second, I felt all the anger, frustration and fury at Elena accompanied with all the love, respect and need I felt for Stefan cry out within me for an outlet. So, without warning, I grasped Stefan with both hands around his broad shoulders and brought him to me and kissed him with a brutal, bestial need for closeness.

Stefan and I for what seemed an eternity were locked together and we probably would have ended up in his bedroom together again, had Damon not had enough of our excessive PDA and cleared his throat loudly. When we pulled away from each other, Damon spoke for the first time with his typical, cheeky grin spread across his face, "Well, brother, it seems I really didn't know you after all." Stefan rolled his eyes but shot his older brother a quick grateful look that he hadn't, unlike my sister, decided to have it out with him over this.

I looked back at Elena and she looked sullen and saddened by what she had just witnessed between Stefan and Damon, almost envious of the brotherly love they displayed, when any sense of familial love we had once had no longer existed between us. I knew that any reconciliation could only follow her acknowledging her part in the tragedies that had swept Mystic Falls since she more or less invited trouble to come and take up residence at the Gilbert home. I also knew that it would be naïve and foolish of me to expect the girl who had always been the centre of attention and the object of everyone's affections to comprehend how she had caused the rift between us, not my sudden need and craving for respect, acknowledgement by someone other than Klaus and Caroline and actually, just love.

I glided over to Elena, who took a frightened step backwards into Damon's side; always needing his protection…I looked her in the eyes and quietly whispered, "We're done, you and me, Elena. I'm not leaving Mystic Falls, but this is a final goodbye, but you should be used to those by now." I softly pressed my lips to her cheek in a brother's farewell kiss to his would-be estranged sister and then walked back to Stefan and took his hand, asking in a hopeful, nasal voice, "Come with me?"

Stefan smiled, "Wherever you go…"

With the words barely out of his mouth, I pressed my lips to his softly and whispered in his ear, in my usual, sarcastic lilt, "Well, we're only going to the Mikaelson's!"

Damon looked up at us having heard where we were bound and said, "Jer?"

"Yeah?"

"What exactly did you do to Vampire Barbie?"

I knew that even though Damon highly disapproved of Caroline's acceptance of Klaus and his moral reforms and her siding with him over Elena, he still cared sincerely for the blonde vampire, as her creator, he was naturally bound to her as his blood ran through her veins and although he would have concealed his true emotions from Elena, would have been sorely grieved had I murdered her.

Elena's countenance did shift from distraught to vexed swiftly at Damon's concern for Caroline's wellbeing, but it was her issue that she could not forgive her former best friend for falling in love with forbidden fruit as it were, which again was no less than she herself had done with Damon.

"Why don't you just call _her _and ask, Damon? Neither she nor Klaus deserve your disapproval or aversion for being together, just as neither Stefan nor I deserve it."

While Elena showed her disgust, Damon on the other hand, nodded slightly in agreement, "I might give her a call – sometime…" he winked.

I nodded in the understanding that he would call Caroline because he, unlike Elena, could see that she did need some support from her friends, who had previously shunned her and he could give her that and they could reconcile whether Elena liked it or not. I laughed to myself as I thought it a funny thing that Damon might have learnt something about his girlfriend and her attitudes and flaws through my exposing them in the way that I had and through Stefan and my new relationship.

Stefan and I headed for the door heading back to the Mikaelson mansion, when just before we stepped out together into the world as a couple, I looked back at Elena and said, "Elena," she looked at me, "It's not about you anymore."

* * *

Soon enough, Stefan and I were stood on the porch of the Mikaelson home and had just rung the old fashioned doorbell. While we were waiting for Klaus or Caroline to answer the door, I saw a curtain on the second floor move; almost sure I saw Caroline's face disappear behind the rich purple velvet. The door was then pulled ajar revealing Klaus looking stressed at seeing me back so soon after he had told me not to return until I had gained control of my vampire urges.

He said, smiling at Stefan, "Stefan, glad to see you," he then turned to scrutinise me, "Jeremy…" he said warily.

I understood his caution in trusting me to enter his home, which housed Caroline, his most prized possession, which I had come perilously close to taking away from him forever. Reassuringly I said, "Klaus, I am sorry for everything I did last night. I know it's only been about twenty four hours and you wouldn't have expected me to change and be under total control that quickly, but," I glanced fleetingly at Stefan, gaining his silent permission before I outed us to Klaus, and Caroline who was presumably eavesdropping from another room in the huge house and when I saw he freely gave me leave to confess all, I continued, "something happened and I have changed."

Klaus analysed my posture, my expression, my manner and spent a lengthy moment inspecting my eyes before relaxing and smiling his familiar smile, invited Stefan and I into the house.

As soon as I entered, I saw a very pale and wan Caroline, dressed plainly in a loose top and sweats, standing at the top of the stairs, clutching the bannister tensely. I gulped noisily, nervous of her, full of worry that she might hate me or run from my presence in her own home. My fears were misplaced, as true to her own nature of forgiveness and second chances, she walked slowly down the stairs until she came to a halt centimetres from my face, utterly expressionless. Then, without fear or apprehension, she smiled relieved and enveloped me in a hug, which left me winded and shocked, but I warmly put my arms round her and squeezed her tight.

Klaus and Stefan exchanged a smirk at Caroline's returned vivacity and how the both of us brightened at the show of her compassion in spite of the personal and grievous injury to herself. Suddenly, Caroline released herself from my arms, and enquired, "So, what's the news? I'm dying to know!"

All of us chuckled at that and as old friends would, the three of us went through to the luxurious drawing room of the Mikaelson mansion and sat down while I, with a little hesitant help from Stefan, told Caroline and Klaus the story of what had happened since I had left their home the night before. We stayed up late, talking into the night, particularly on the subject of what Stefan and I were going to do now. Klaus courteously insisted that we stay at the mansion for the time being; at least until we knew what we were going to do, but the offer of a place to stay was always there as long as we needed it.

Caroline and Klaus went upstairs to bed in the early hours of the morning, just as the sun was rising and a new day, where all was fresh and unsullied, was dawning, but not before advising us not to return to my old room here just yet, as it was still in the same state it had been in when I left it. So, Stefan and I remained on the lavish sofa that was more comfortable than any bed I had been used to before I stayed at the Mikaelson's, and we continued to talk until we were worn out and had nothing left to say, and so we easily and naturally fell asleep in each other's arms and I had agreeable dreams for yet another night…


	9. 164 Candles

** A/N ** The time has come – the end of "It's Not All About You", so I made it a very long chapter to do it justice! I hope you've enjoyed my first fanfiction and I can reveal that I'm currently writing my next one, which is a crossover of "The Vampire Diaries" and "Game of Thrones" – but I shan't give more away! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed throughout this story xox

* * *

**CHAPTER 09 - 164 Candles **

We decided that it would be best if we stayed permanently with Caroline and Klaus, seeing as the boarding house now carried the ominous risk of meeting Elena. The four of us had gotten along like a house on fire together, which was a particularly relevant comparison when Stefan and I decided to light a fire of an evening and after a particularly...exciting night, we fell asleep and the embers fell out of the grate and set Caroline's $3000 rug on fire. We were swiftly forgiven once Stefan paid for them to spend two weeks in a secluded holiday cabin in Vermont, all expenses paid.

The day they were due to come back was Stefan's 164th birthday, the first of many birthdays I would be spending with him, and I had become a Caroline wannabe in the way I was planning an unprecedentedly huge party to celebrate his 164th birthday or his 20th birthday, depending on who you were. The best part was Stefan was fully under the impression that all that was intended for his birthday was a quiet and laid back night for the two of us at home. Caroline had wanted to come back a few days early from the getaway, to help me, an "inexperienced, clueless, boy" as she put it, organise the party of parties. Klaus was very disappointed when she intimated that opinion, but luckily for him, I persuaded her to just stay with Klaus in Vermont.

I was sitting in Klaus' study which, normally, we were forbidden to enter "on pain of death, dun dun dun!" but with the alliance of Caroline, I had persuaded him to turn it over to me for two weeks while I turned it into Party HQ, as Stefan would never wish to jeopardise his own life by invading Klaus' personal study.

Stefan had gone to hunt for a couple of hours, so I used his absence to ring the marquee provider and finalise the guest list, as Caroline's emailed instructions had told me to do. Tyler, Matt, Damon, Caroline, Klaus, Rebekah and Elijah were only a few of the invited guests. We also invited Elena but I had yet to hear from Damon as to whether she would show up.

I had been surprised when a classically scripted letter had arrived in the post addressed to me. These letters sometimes came for Klaus, but when I opened the expensive looking envelope, I saw the communication was from Elijah. He accepted what he deemed a "cordial" invitation to Stefan's party and expressed his congratulations on our relationship and his pride at how a spawn of his had overcome the trials and tribulations of transformation. He did allude to Caroline's injuries at my hand, showing that Klaus had been regularly reporting back to his older brother, but his comments were positive. It was a strange sensation for me, me who had never been concerned with teachers and their approval, not before Ric anyway, feeling such a need for validation that could only be given by Elijah, my maker.

I heard the front door slam, announcing Stefan's return, so I hastily hid the documents pertaining to the party and flashed out of the study, making sure to lock the door behind me. I went downstairs and greeted him with a chaste kiss on his lips. "Happy hunting?" I asked with a smile.

He returned my smile and replied, "The bunnies were hard to catch, but quite tasty,"

I laughed at his bunny joke, and took his hand, pulling him with me into the drawing room and onto the sofa. As we sat, I wrapped my arms around his body and pulled him into my embrace which longed for him whenever he left, even when it was just to go hunting.

I turned his head gently to face mine and kissed him, my hands playing with his hair as our tongues danced to the same rhythm. He pushed me down onto the sofa so that he was pressed down against my body and I could feel the desire in him for me and I felt loved and utterly lost in my love for this one man. We lay in that attitude intermittently nipping playfully at each other's lips for a long time.

We were stopped at long last by the ring of the phone, which Stefan rose to answer, but I pushed him back onto the sofa as I went to the phone. Good thing I had because it was Damon, calling to talk about Elena.

"Hi, Jer, how's life?" He asked pleasantly.

"Busy at the moment. How's that selfish bitch of a sister of mine?"

"Careful, Jer, you may be my brother's little boy toy and my girlfriend's brother,"

I cut in, "Estranged brother,"

I could almost hear him roll his eyes, "Whatever! Anyhow, I'm just ringing to say _I'll_ be seeing you on Wednesday night, ok?"

I immediately understood that he was telling me Elena would not be attending Stefan's party. To be honest, though, I was gladder that Damon had been tactful and not explicitly detailed what was happening on Wednesday when Stefan would have been listening to the conversation. Damn! Quick, make an excuse why Damon would be coming alone here on Wednesday...crap!

"Ok, Jer, I'll be seeing you."

I said goodbye dismissively and returned to Stefan, who was lying across the sofa, looking at me with curious, suspicious eyes. "What was that about?"

"Oh, Damon's coming to see Klaus about something to do with werewolves on Wednesday, so he's coming here."

Stefan shrugged off the matter, thankfully, and beckoned for me to rejoin him on the sofa. I gladly went and laid myself next to him, my back lightly against his front, as he wrapped me snugly in his arms – now, the safest place on Earth for me...

We went up to our relatively new bedroom, which was not my old one here as I could not even bear to be reminded of the events that had unfolded there and how it was a room that I inhabited at my most miserable. I did not want my new life with Stefan to be at all clouded over by remembrances of miseries I had put behind me to focus on how happy I was now with Stefan.

The next day we woke up, entwined in each other's arms as we been for the past two weeks. Usually, I woke up with no worries and the deepest serenity, however, not today, for today was Tuesday and the day before Stefan's party...the party, that was swiftly becoming a gargantuan problem.

I flashed out of bed, leaving Stefan slumbering, sprawled across the king size bed, and got into the shower. I thought while the steaming hot water gushed over me that I ought to give Caroline a call, even though I had promised Klaus I would try not to bother them while they were away on a lover's retreat, as I honestly was failing at getting this party anywhere near good enough for Stefan. Caroline should have been given the responsibility of it from the start, but I had wanted to do it myself – stupid, lovesick idiot that I had become!

Being deep in thought and brooding about the party problem, I had failed to notice a certain vampire enter the bathroom. So, I jumped when I felt lips on my back making a journey down my spine, "What the -" I turned my head sharply at the unexpected intrusion into my shower, but relaxed once I took in the presence of my beloved.

I chuckled at his bravado at being in the shower with me, as he had never attempted it before. The newness of the event excited me and I pulled him with me further under the water, watching in awe as his handsomeness increased as the water covered him, making his hair and skin shine all the more, for to me it was always a beautiful prospect.

"Sorry, did I interrupt something important? Were you contemplating asking out the bottle of shampoo?"

I laughed heartily, "Why would you ask a stupid question like that?"

"Well, you were so deep in thought, so something important must be occupying your mind, and that seemed like the only thing a carefree, easygoing guy like yourself must have to mull over in the shower."

I keeled over, nearly head butting him in the process, laughing so much that my stomach began to hurt. The knowledge that he had no clue why I was tense and then, his comic answer to my distress, absolutely bowled me over. Stefan could be the most serious, broody man, but I relished the times when he would suddenly embrace his light-hearted, playful and funny side.

Stefan allowed me a minute or two to laugh myself into quite a bit of pain, before he held me tightly by the shoulders and brought me up to eye-level. I suddenly became quiet as my eyes bored into his and I felt our souls and hearts connect. There was no need for spoken words, nor gestures, just by looking into each other's eyes, we knew what the other felt.

It therefore surprised me when Stefan frowned slightly and looked away coyly. I was not willing to let that sweet moment go so quickly, so I softly brought his head back up to look at me. "What's wrong, Stefan?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to say..."

It was bizarre for the usually so confident and word-sure vampire to be lost for words, so much so, that I became agitated. "Stefan, you're being weird and it's making me feel uneasy, so please, will you just spit out whatever it is you're trying to say?" I asked anxiously.

He looked apologetic for an instant, but then his expression changed to the familiar one of confidence and surety, "I just wanted to say – I love you."

I felt the water wash over me as time seemed to stand still. His declaration was what I had awaited for almost a fortnight after we had more or less burnt our bridges together and taken a vast leap of faith by confronting Damon and Elena. I had known from the second I kissed him for the first time that I loved him and wanted never to leave him and to spend the rest of my life with him, but it had not escaped my notice that even though we had spent every night since then having sex and in each other's company during the day, that not once had he actually uttered those all important three words, which I had been aching to hear, but too scared to say myself.

Words could not express the elation I felt at finally hearing them, so I reacted by gripping his hips firmly and bringing my mouth down on his in a strong and feeling kiss, the words "I love you" being pushed out from every pore of my body at his. His body instantaneously reacted to my advances and he hungrily intertwined his tongue with mine as we brought each other closer. His hands found the back of my head, forcing me to stay close and intimate with him, not that I wanted us to be apart. What happened next is between him and me, but we didn't emerge from the bathroom for a _long_ time...

We spent the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing, except I did call Caroline very apologetic and beg her to just sort out the final details for tomorrow's party, just to make sure I had not entirely cocked it up. She thought it was so romantic that it was all a secret and that I had gone to so much effort that she willingly told Klaus to "fuck off" and let her do it, or as I heard her say over the phone, "she'd make sure he would have nothing to arouse ever again". It was a constant source of amusement in the Mikaelson mansion that Caroline could imprison and compel an Original Vampire over twenty times her own vampire age to do her bidding through the amazing power that sex gave her...

I now felt more at ease, knowing that with Caroline at the helm on the final day of party preparation, nothing could possibly go wrong for Miss Mystic Falls and her ability to pull off spectacular events. I did feel a twinge of guilt that I had given Caroline a purpose other than pleasuring Klaus on the final day of their little trip.

* * *

The day of Stefan's 164th birthday finally dawned and I doubt he was as excited as I was for his own birthday. I had not heard back from Caroline since I had given her autonomy over the final arrangements, but that did not worry me too much, it probably meant that the party was going to be a huge success. We expected them back in the late morning, so as to give Stefan and me the morning to spend together in relative peace as I had told him we would be doing on his birthday, just not in the evening as I had intimated.

I awoke the love of my life by pushing him over onto his back and giving him a fervent "Happy Birthday" kiss. After the surprise at being so awakened, he returned my affectionate morning greeting with a smile and after a few moments in each other's arms, I rolled back onto my side to look into his wholly pleased face and whispered softly, "Happy birthday, Stefan,"

He grinned, "Is it my birthday? Truly?" He asked jokingly.

I laughed along at his pretence, giving his arm a playful smack, and replied, "Unless I'm much mistaken."

He sat up in bed and looked at me mischievously and asked, "So, love, what have you got me for my birthday?"

He was being unusually playful this morning, so much so that I half suspected he knew that I had planned something other than what I had let on, but I had taken every precaution to keep tonight a secret and no one else would have been so thoughtless to discuss what I had been very studious to make clear was a _surprise_ party!

We did spend a morning in the bliss of each other's company and we did begin the day making love, as Caroline had thought we would. After we had fatigued ourselves, we laid together, Stefan with his back to me between my legs, his face looking backwards at me as I stroked his brown locks and massaged his shoulders.

The sound of company downstairs and the familiar voices of Caroline and Klaus coming home made us get out of bed and dress quickly. The prodigal couple had the good sense not to come upstairs, well aware that we had heard their homecoming. Stefan and I shared one final private kiss before descending to greet them.

When we saw them, it was clear that something other than the anticipation of this evening, or the joy that it was Stefan's birthday had gladdened them. The thrilled expression which Caroline bore accompanied with the exceedingly fulfilled one which Klaus had, made me curious as to why the pair were so elated, for two weeks vacation although being able to renew their spirits, wasn't enough alone to warrant this kind of euphoria.

A sideways glance at Stefan was enough to confirm my curiosity; he had noticed that thzey were out of sorts too. So, I asked them, "What is going on with you two? You look like all of your Christmases have come at once!"

Caroline giggled gleefully and with a brief look to Klaus, who smiled and gave her a slight nod, she held out her left hand, which now was adorned with an ornate silver ring with a dazzling, solitaire diamond that cast a rainbow on the wall opposite us.

"Well...say something!" She happily said.

Stefan and I in unison shouted, "Congratulations!" I went to embrace Caroline, while Stefan shook Klaus' hand and then we switched.

Caroline looked almost contrite, "Look, Stefan, Jeremy, I'm sorry we stole your birthday thunder, you must be livid!" We reassured her that we did not feel that they had in the slightest bit stolen Stefan's birthday thunder.

We spent the afternoon indulging Caroline by letting her talk weddings at us, Stefan, Klaus and I just saying yes or no at convenient places, though she clearly saw that all three of us were not interested in what she was saying. Once the carriage clock struck five o'clock, Caroline at long last ceased her wedding related tirade and turned to me and asked, "Shouldn't we head out now?"

A confused Stefan looked from Caroline to me to Klaus and enquired, "What? Where are you going?"

"Caroline and I have got to go and fetch something from the boarding house."

I observed Stefan intently as he tried to bury a hurt expression and he said, "Now?" the pair of us conspirators nodded and Stefan looked at me, hurt, and continued, "What could be so urgent that you need to go to Damon's now?" When Caroline and I gave no reply, he said dejectedly, "Fine! Go and do whatever you need to, to hell with tonight!"

He got up and stormed out angrily. It was unkind of me, but I smiled at his distress and irritation, knowing that it wouldn't last long. Caroline and I with a nod and a kiss (not me!) to Klaus left the mansion to get to the boarding house, which was the location for Stefan's party.

We had gone early to organise the absolute, final details and make sure no glass was out of line, no chair askew...tonight had to be perfect. Soon enough the guests began to show up. Damon was the last but two to arrive, the absence of Elena was noticed and commented on by most of the company, but soon, their gossip abated.

The plan was for Klaus to console my poor love by offering to take him out for a bunny hunt, which would be round the Salvatore place and Caroline and I would quieten the guests so Stefan would remain oblivious to what was actually going on. Klaus was instructed to call Caroline once they were ten minutes away. We had both torn off parts of our sleeves and left a trail of blood from just outside the boarding house, leaving the door ajar, to lure Stefan and a clued in Klaus into the building, where we would all jump out and surprise him with the party.

I was not particularly fond of the idea of frightening Stefan by the idea that something had befallen me and Caroline, but we had to get him in somehow. We received the blank call from Klaus and we quickly silenced everyone and ensured everyone was adequately hidden from view and waited.

I stood the closest to the door with Caroline, so that should Stefan or Klaus show any supernatural qualities we could avert the situation before anyone became alarmed. The vampires in the room – Damon, Caroline, Elijah, Rebekah and I – could easily hear the two outside as they discovered the torn pieces of our clothing and followed the trail of blood quietly into the house, fearing a trap in which we were the bait. Thankfully, Stefan had not bared his fangs or had his face changed when he entered the boarding house, so when the hiding party guests jumped out, shouting "Happy Birthday, Stefan!" he did not give any of the unaware humans a heart attack.

He merely looked back at a smiling, but apologetic, Klaus, who said, "Surprise, mate. Sorry for worrying you – only way and all that," and with a wink went over to Caroline and put his arms around her body heaving with laughter at the aghast expression on Stefan's poor face.

I approached him and he looked at me with wonder and relief and grasped the sides of my face and I as I looked at his face I could see him blinking away now unnecessary tears and I felt such remorse that I said, "Oh, my love, we didn't mean to scare you so much, just to surprise you."

He nodded, still in shock, but once the Originals had encouraged everyone to start having a good time outside in the marquee, Stefan began to relax but as if he needed assurance that no harm had indeed come to me, he pulled my head against his shoulder and we stood there for a short time. He soon released me and I planted a repentant kiss on his lips and said, "Happy Birthday, Stefan." I placed a red parcel into his hand, smiling.

He had recovered and beamed at the gift which I passed to him and his hands glided over the package, elegantly unfolding the paper.

"We're not reusing the paper! Just open it, for heaven's sake!" I was eager to see his reaction to what I had gifted him.

He laughed freely at my encouragement and he saw the velvet box that was within and opening it, he gasped and shook his head in surprise at what he saw in the box. I had to borrow some money from Klaus to purchase the gift, which I refused to compel out of a salesman at the jewellery store, this was an honest gift. I had bought a large and ornate ring that was similar to the one that Katherine had once given him with an "S" engraved on it, his daylight ring. This one was also a daylight ring, as Klaus had got one of the many witches in his acquaintance to cast the spell on it, but it had "J&S" engraved on it in silver and was round with an onyx setting and simply a silver circle around the letters.

He took the ring from the box, removed the ring on his finger, with a glance at Damon and then exchanged it with his new one. I understood the gravity of the moment for him, so I showed him my hand and a ring with the same design hugged my index finger and spoke kindly, "Stefan, this ring," I took his old ring in my hand and gestured to it, "is your past – it is Katherine, it is a world where the only soul you had was Damon, it is you without me." I then put the ring in the box and closed it, locking the clasp, "That is a part of your life behind a shut door." I then took the hand where his new ring now sat and held it tightly in my ornamented hand, "These are our lives – the same – the silver circle is an eternity band and it means that nothing will ever be able to separate us. This is what your new life – sorry, our new life – has in store for us."

Stefan began to weep hearing the promise in my words and understanding the full meaning behind the rings. He said nothing, but neither of us ever really needed to say anything, that was just the way we were together – perfectly in harmony in silence. All he did was set the box down, take his hand from my grip and then taking my waist with both of his hands, and pull me in for a passionate and long kiss.

On that day, the day Stefan turned 164 vampire years old; my life – our lives –truly began.


End file.
